Big Sky Tournament: Weber State seeks first NCAA bid since '07

Conference tournament play began Tuesday, kicking off a 12-day mad scramble for NCAA tournament berths. Up next in our previews is the Big Sky tournament, which should be a two-way battle between Northern Colorado and host Weber State.

Big Sky Conference Tournament

Date: March 6-10

Site: First Round at higher seed; semis and finals in Ogden, Utah

First Round
No. 3 Montana State vs. No. 6 Portland State
No. 4 Montana vs. No. 5 Northern Arizona

Semifinals
No. 1 Weber State vs. Montana/Northern Arizona
No. 2 Northern Colorado vs. Montana State/Portland State

Favorite: Weber State (19-9, 13-3)

Contenders: Northern Colorado (24-6, 12-4)

Did you know: Northern Colorado, in just its second year of conference tournament eligibility, tied a school record for wins with 24.

Outlook: By edging Northern Colorado by a game for the regular-season title, Weber state earned the right to host the semifinals and finals. That should be meaningful except that the Wildcats fell on their home floor in the semifinals a year ago. Northern Colorado should be the primary competition, having split with Weber State in the regular season and won seven of eight. If there's a dark horse, it's two-time defending champ Portland State, which finished just sixth in the regular season but split with both the top two teams.